Newport Wasps' fans will be quite happy for cracking Cornish rider Chris Harris to win the Welsh Open next month after his stunning guest appearance in the top drawer thriller with Edinburgh in the British League yesterday.

In six rides Harris - in for the injured Craig Watson - picked up a paid 19 points, guiding Wasps to a one-point win after the meeting had been delayed for 50 minutes by torrential rain which threatened to wreck the afternoon.

But speedway fans must be the most optimistic of all. They continued to arrive in the rain after the scheduled start and were rewarded with one of the most exciting meetings they are likely to witness.

The Newport track must be one of the quickest to recover because it took quite a battering from the rain but in next to no time the riders were ready to race.

Unfortunately Edinburgh took a greater liking to the track than Newport but the Wasps finally came good in the end - but what a thriller.

Wasps trailed by ten points after three heats and again after five. They did not lead until heat 12 after Harris and skipper Tony Atkin had taken them to within a point of the Monarchs with a maximum return in heat 11.

Harris' haul included a tactical ride for double points in heat six and his final ride brought a second place, splitting the Monarchs duo of captain Theo Pijper and Rusty Harrison after they had got into an early 5-1 position.

Tim Stone, Newport promoter, doubling up as team manager in the absence of veteran Neil Street who was at Belle Vue for the Junior World Championships qualifying round, said: "I told them just not to concede a 5-1 and Harris replied, 'Don't worry, that won't happen!' But that was some meeting."

And that in itself was almost an understatement because it was a drama-packed affair, with so much tension. Mads Korneliussen won heat nine - the first Newport rider other than Harris to win a heat.

Stone, rightly so, paid tribute to his track staff. He said: "I assured the referee (Stuart Wilson from Workington) that the track would be all right fairly quickly after the rain stopped. Edinburgh dialled into the track early on and they took full advantage but as we settled the riders did as we asked of them."

Busy skipper Atkin - he rides his seventh meeting in nine days at Reading tonight in the Premier League - was second top scorer with 13 points, including three successive heat wins.

Atkin, who scored ten points guesting for Workington at home to Hull on Saturday night, said: "I have been in good form away from Newport but I have struggled at home and I wanted to do well in front of my own fans. I was very pleased both for myself and the team.

"Edinburgh were all keen to ride as we were. It was a pleasure to ride against people who wanted to ride and all credit to them."

Wasps: Michael Coles (rider replacement), Kristian Lund 3 (4), Mads Korneliussen 7+1 (6), Neil Collins 6+1 (5), Chris Harris 18+1 (6), Tony Atkin 13 (6), Karlis Ezergailis 0 (3).

Monarchs: Daniel Nermark 6 (4), Ross Brady 7 (4), Cameron Woodward 6+2 (4), Theo Pijper 8 (5), Rusty Harrison 12 (5), William Lawson 4 (4), David McAllan 3+1 (4).